Puddles and Flowers
by Anon A. Mauze
Summary: Rin goes outside to play after a rainstorm.


Puddles and Flowers

Rin/Sess One shot

G

Disclaimer: I don't own Sess or Rin or Jaken...much as I would like to...or the Lilo and Stitch line...

A/N: This is semi-serious fluffy goodness inspired by the artwork of a friend of mine. You should see the pic, it's soooo KAWAII! It's about two years after he picked her up. So she's probably about 10 or so.

Rin stared out the window at the heavy, leaden skies and wondered if it would stop raining anytime soon. Lord Sesshomaru had kept her inside the entire time it had been raining and she desperately wanted to go outside after spending three days stuck inside. Jaken had been his usual obstinent and humorless self. The rain just seemed to make it worse. After what seemed an eternity to the small girl the rain slowly trickled down to a drizzle and then stopped. _Yay!_ she thought. _Now where's Lord Sesshomaru?_

Presently, Lord Sesshomaru was hidden away in the armory. He was giving Tokijin a new edge and polishing Tenseiga, even though he hated it. It may have been useless to him, but it was still a part of his father's memory. To honor that memory he would keep it by his side. After all, what else did he have to remember his father by? Other than that stupid, half-breed brother of his... Methodically he slid the sharpening stone down Tokijin's edge.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" asked a young voice from the door.

"What is it, Rin?"

"The rain has stopped. May I go outside to play?" she asked wistfully.

He sighed. He set aside the sharpening stone and turned around. "Yes. Take Jaken with you. If you wish, let Ah-un out as well. I will be in my study." the ever proud demon lord turned to the toad demon so constantly at his side. "See that she comes to no harm."

Grumbling the toad demon nodded to his Lord. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru."

Rin shrieked with joy and raced out the door. "Aieeeeee! Yay!" Wincing, Sesshomaru shook his head to rid it of the piercing sound. "I really must teach her the value of silence," he said to the empty hall.

Rin hopped out the front gate. "Come on, let's go play! Jaken-sama, where do you think we should go?" she asked of the grumpy toad.

"I don't care."

"Fine then. Let's go to the river." As Rin dashed off in the direction of the river that meandered through the valley, Jaken resigned himself to following after her. _Stupid girl. Doesn't she realize that Lord Sesshomaru sends me along to keep her alive? Then she runs off like this!_

Rin, meanwhile, had begun jumping in the rain puddles that dotted the meadow surrounding Sesshomaru's castle. Eventually her long, coltish legs were liberally splattered with dirty streams of water. Her kimono became ragged at the edges and there was a smear of mud on her cheek. But she was grinning happily as she wandered to the bank of the river. A bright flash of color distracted her from her previous destination. Investigating, she found a field full of red and white flowers. Plucking one from a vine, she examined it thoroughly. It was trumpet shaped, with a white center gradually deepening to a bright cheerful red. It smelled sniff...like sniff...rain and wind and honey. Cocking her head in interest, she decided to pick some, placing them in the woven basket she'd brought along. This is where Jaken found her, busily picking flowers in a meadow.

"Little human girl, _what_ are you doing?" he demanded. He shivered as he stepped into the brightly lit meadow. _He_ knew this place. And he thought that Lord Sesshomaru would not want such a place disturbed. "We should leave this place. It should not be profaned by the likes of you!"

"I am picking flowers for Lord Sesshomaru, Jaken-sama. Why shouldn't I? He likes it when I bring him flowers." Rin calmly went on picking flowers. Jaken, fed up, grabbed her hand and began pulling her out of the clearing. A wind whipped past the two and eddied around the trees for a moment. Then a soft feminine voice whispered in it.

"Let the girl remain, if she wishes to. I have been alone for so long..."

Jumping, Jaken stumbled backwards. "Who...who are you?" he asked timidly.

But the wind remained silent.

Quietly, Rin began to hum. It was tuneless at first, but slowly it took on the soft melody of a lullaby. She slowly worked her way around the field, picking only the brightest blossoms. Finally she stopped and cocked her head at a dark hole in the ground. She turned and looked across the meadow at her shadow. "Jaken-sama, there's a cave over here. I've never seen it before. Have you?" Curious she stuck her head in to it and said "Hello?" It echoed softly back at her. Then her eyes adjusted to the darkness in the cave and she saw the statue in the back. Jaken saw her head deeper into the cave and rushed over to yank her out, but missed.

Rin approached the statue in awe. It was exquisitely carved, life-like almost. A young looking woman dressed in formal regal kimono. She was beautiful. Her loose hair brushed her ankles and she had a softly triangular face with large doe-like eyes. Hr lips were full, the lower slightly more than the upper. Her high cheekbones accentuated the almond shape of her eyes. But there was wariness to the set of her eyes that bespoke a warrior's spirit. A lift to the eyebrows that denoted arrogance, but a quirk to her lips gave her a strong sense of humor. Rin sat at the base of the statue and gazed upward at the woman. One arm crossed her chest, in her hand she held an open shukusen, a lady fan, a weapon used by noble ladies when they did not wish to be seen with a true weapon. The other was held loosely close to her side. Rin could see she held something in that hand too. Inquisitively, she poked her nose closer to it. Loosely clasped in that hand was a small flower shaped hair comb made of mother of pearl. Delighted Rin pulled it out to look at it more closely. The flowers on the comb were exactly like the ones outside the cave. The tines were still strong and in a moment of pure feminine enchantment, she slid it under the tie of the small ponytail on the side of her head.

"Hey! Brat! What do you think you are doing?" demanded an irate voice. "You shouldn't be in here." Jaken marched over an grabbed her hand. Then, outside a loud peal of thunder echoed through the cave. And it began to _pour_. Rin quivered in surprise. "Oh, no! How are we going to get home, Jaken-sama?" she asked. "Lord Sesshomaru will not want me to walk home in the rain. He wouldn't even let me play in it at the castle." she grumbled.

Jaken sighed. "I suppose we can stay here until it stops. But we must leave as soon as it stops, do you hear?" Her "Yes, Jaken-sama." cooled him a bit. _At least the human brat is polite, _he thought. Then she did something that set him off again. She curled up at the statue's feet and laid her head on her arms and drifted off to sleep. The basket of flowers sat in front of her and the comb winked at him from her hair. _Gah! This'll let up in a moment and then I'll have to wake her up. Idiot human!_

One hour later:

Sesshomaru paced the confines of his room, wondering where on earth his ward and retainer had gotten to. "How far can one little human girl and a toad demon get?" he demanded of the air. At last he threw on his shirt and left in search of both. He tried to follow their scent, but the rain that still fell intermittantly had washed everything clean. _Let's see, where would Rin want to go, he thought. Of course, the river._

He searched the banks as far as he thought they might have gotten, and then stood at a short waterfall, perplexed. _This is unusual. Where could the two of them have gotten to? Perhaps they took shelter from the rain somewhere_. It seemed like only then he really took notice of where he was. Scrunching his eyebrows together he thought, _it couldn't hurt to look there. It's been so long since I last visited._ Swinging about he set off for a small meadow covered in flower vines.

Taking a sniff when he got there he realized that they had indeed been there. He chuckled to himself. _Of course, the flowers would draw her. They're prettiest this time of year_. He worked his way back to the cave and peeked in. What he saw was enough to make his jaw drop. But he only lifted his brows and smirked slightly. "Jaken?" he called softly. "Be silent." Jerked awake by his masters voice, Jaken jumped up and raced over to him. Sesshomaru tossed the irritating demon out of the cave and went to Rin's sleeping form. He looked up at the statue's smiling face and touched it gently with his fingertips. Then he bent and shook Rin awake. "Wake up, little one. It's time to go home."

"Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked groggily, sitting up. Then she stared him in the eyes and blinked. "Yes?" he asked, sensing she had something to ask. What she said shocked him to the core. "Are we a family?"

"A family? Yes, I suppose." he replied, confused. She smiled brightly. "She said that means nobody gets left behind." she told him seriously, pointing at the statue. He nodded solemnly. "Or forgotten," Sesshomaru finished for her. "Where did you get this?" he asked, touching the comb. She blinked at him. "Oh, it was in her hand. Do you want me to put it back?" "No. It's okay. If she let you take it, she wanted you to have it." Sesshomaru told her. Then Rin yawned hugely and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't seem to stay awake."

Sesshomaru then did something Jaken would never forget. He turned his back to the little human girl and said, "Get on." She scrambled sleepily on to his back, still clutching the little basket of flowers. "Who is she?" Rin finally asked. Sesshomaru looked up at the woman and truly smiled for the first time in a long time. "My mother." "She's very pretty." said Rin quietly. Sesshomaru strode out into the dim light of evening, a sleeping little girl on his back and a disgruntled toad at his side. A soft sigh on the breeze whispered to him, "Such a sweet little girl..." He chuckled. "Yes. I know, mother."

Ok peeps. Here's the pic I keep mentioning. Wheeee! Finally!

Go to side 7 .com. The artist's screen name is Yukinite. I couldn't figure out how to link in a pic, so have to do it the hard way. Anyway. Her last name starts w/ a D.


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